After 42 years in Ireland, Martin Tucker has given up his Mount Cashel breeding and rearing establishment in Co.Roscommon, and returned to England. His reasons for doing so are as concerning as they are varied, with last Christmas Day probably the clincher. But more of that later.
A son of an English sire and Irish dam, Martin was reared within a handslip distance of Tattenham Corner in Epsom. In 1975 the family bought their first whippet and became fans of whippet racing.
He said: “Dad’s ambition was always to live in Ireland and they bought a business in mum’s village on the Roscommon/Longford border. There was no whippet racing and so we developed an interest in greyhounds at out local track, Longford.”
It was a chance meeting with Bath based owner trainer Colin Packham, following a cancelled coursing meeting, that saw young Martin cut his teeth as a stud keeper. His first dog was the Swindon track record holder Mollifrend Tom, followed by the Scurry/Laurels/Dundalk International winner, Mollifrend Lucky.
A string of stud dogs followed in the following years, Crack Off, Some Gamble, Spring Gamble, Popov, Cape Prince and a clutch of ex-Lister hounds, Ningbo Jack, Sidaz Jack, Ninja Jamie and Britain’s Greyhound of the Year, Farloe Tango. The best, by some distance, was Alpine Minister.
Martin said: “He was a fast dog who won the National Puppy Stake at Shelbourne and was runner-up in the Irish Puppy Derby and St.Leger. He also won the Irish Derby Consolation. His biggest problem was that at the end of every race, he would turn around at the pick up and take off at top speed in the opposite direction. It was almost impossible to stop him. At that stage the Irish Derby was three runs in a week and he destroyed his own chances.
“He had been standing at stud with Peter Franklin in Limerick and had hardly served any bitches in the previous year; about three as I recall. But shortly after he arrived, he had Shimmering Wings win the Oaks. He then had Rantogue Pride, Park Jewel and a string of other high class hounds come through and interest really grew. In England he had Farloe Bonus, who won the Summer Cup at Milton Keynes three times for Charlie Lister.”
The fabulous Norfolk bred Blue Murlen was also a temporary resident with the Tuckers. One of a tiny group of hounds to beat Some Picture on merit, the son of Murlens Abbey never had a realistic chance at a breeding career due to owner Mick Smith steadfastly refusing to stand him at stud, despite plenty of requests from Irish stud keepers.
Martin said: “Then one day I got a phone call asking if I wanted to take Blue Murlen at stud and I thought it was a wind-up. Why come to me when there were bigger name stud keepers? But Mick said he had read about me and wanted to give a young stud keeper a chance.”
It was a comparatively short stint at stud. Within 18 months, Murlen had developed testicular cancer and had to be castrated. Mick Smith had died during that time and Murlen returned to live out his day’s with Smith’s partner, Annie.
It might not have been a long stud career, but Murlen left his mark. Check out the pedigree of supersire Droopys Sydney!
If Alpine Minister was the best stud dog in the kennel, who was the worst?
“I would have to say, Sidaz Jack. He was a very good Derby winner, and a son of Westmead Hawk, but his pups were absolutely paceless.”
At its peak, the Tucker team were covering around 250 bitches per year. Martin became one of the first Irish based stud keepers to take the frozen/chilled AI course at the laboratories run by Richard and Sharon Konole in the USA. But the stud business was soon to take a backward step. In 1997, the ten and a half year old Alpine Minister died in his sleep. But other issues were greater.
Martin said: “By that stage the Australian sires were all the rage in Ireland and nobody wanted Irish sires any more. So in 2002 I decided to expand the rearing side of the business by buying 11 acres on the site next door and overall investing around £250,000 on building the place up with 200 metre paddocks and whelping facilities.”
Martin was also one of the first breeders/rearers to spot the potential of internet technology and owners could watch videos of pups being born or exercising in the paddocks and gallop. He was whelping down between 10-15 broods per year and had over 140 pups in the paddocks.
Mountcashel Red (Newinn Wonder-Oakview Banba) Oaks Trial Stake winner and two of her September 2021 pups by Ballymac Best came with me, along with a nice January 21 unraced dog Premier Fantasy- Oakview Brae named Russanda Pete.
Martin didn’t distinguish between graders and open racers when it came to the satisfaction of developing pups into racers. (“They can’t all be Derby winners”) There were plenty of the more gifted group including Mash Mad Eyebrows, Mash Mad Snowy, Come To Pass, Geelo Monty, El Supremo and El Alecko to name but a sample.
But gradually, over time, the dream began to sour and it all came to a head on Christmas Day 2021.
Martin said: “By then it had become almost impossible to find staff. I had someone help me in the kennels who barely took a day off. In 11 years, I think the only two days of the year that he took off were Chrtistmas Day and Boxing Day. It was cold, pouring down with rain, I was in oilskins on my own, with 135 greyhounds to feed.
“That might have been the moment I decided that I didn’t want to do it anymore.
“But there were many other factors too. I had lost a couple of friends with serious illness, including a couple younger than me and including Tommy McLoughlin, from Longford track.
“The closure of Longford track was massive too in my enjoyment of greyhound racing. There was a community spirit there that was irreplaceable. These people didn’t just own dogs, they turned up at the tracks too. I was a columnist for Sporting Press at the time and I can remember reporting that there were owners there from 16 of the 32 Irish counties at one meeting.
“Outside of racing, I always had a distraction of my youngest son playing rugby. He played for Ireland at Under-18 level and was due to enrol in the School of Excellence. That was prevented by Covid and then he suffered a career ending knee injury.
“It was also becoming almost impossible to make it pay financially. When I started, I could get unsold bread from the bakery, and knacker meat from the abatoir or direct from the local farmer which I would skin myself. Suddenly, the bread isn’t available and there are regulations on the meat all based on traceability. You need receipts for the beef and there are inspections on the freezer. It became impossible to use the local dump for the waste, or burn the bedding. That had to stop. You had to have a skip which cost €300 to have it emptied. It was all done on weight and the last skipload cost me €500.
“There was a time when the local farmer would empty the septic tank for €100 and use it for slurry. But they aren’t allowed to do it anymore, so that cost more.
“Then they started hammering me for rates. I had been charging €30 per pup per week but you can’t make it pay on those figures. It would need to be at least €40, and even then there isn’t a lot in it. It would have to cost at least €12K to rear a litter. Surprisingly, there are owners still keen to do that, though many of the bigger players have left the game.”
Martin is equalling scathing about the Irish Greyhound Board. At one stage he was appointed Racing Manager at Longford but called an investigation after suspecting greyhounds were being substituted. At the inquiry, his witness refused to give evidence and when Martin failed to receive the backing of the Board, he resigned within five months of taking the job.
He said: “I had two senior Greyhound Board employees here and even before I asked them a question, I knew the answer. I wanted to know whether either of them had any greyhound background whatsoever. Neither did, so I explained how they couldn’t possibly understand what we feel about greyhounds. I told them they wouldn’t last in the industry, and they didn’t. They were a disgrace.”
So, what are the chances of ever getting the right person to run the Board?
Martin said: “I know the perfect person; a greyhound man and businessman of intregrity, PJ Fahy. I once asked him if he would ever consider applying and he said ‘No chance, because I wouldn’t be allowed to do what needed to be done’.”
Martin arrived back in Britain in September and is helping out at Elaine Parker’s Russanda Kennels near Goole. In addition to a coursing trialstake brood bitch and a couple of young racers, Martin has arrived with stud dogs Rising Brandy and his home bred Ela Supremo.
So does he miss Ireland?
“I don’t miss the weather” he responds, “we had a terrible downpour here yesterday, but then I spoke to a friend in Ireland and it turns out they’ve had three solid weeks of it.”
Typical greyhound man really . . . still surrounded by greyhounds and managing to find a positive spin on a Yorkshire winter.
STUD PROFILE: PESTANA
When Pestana was retired to stud after breaking a hock 26 months ago, he was was destined to prove the most popular maiden sire at stud in Ireland.
Racing: His racing career lasted only 23 races, winning 14 and was something of a slow burner in the early part of his career. He was a 10-1 chance when last in the 2020 Gold Cup Final behind Ballymac Anton and was 6-1 when winning the Champion Stakes. Realistically, he was a brilliant early paced 525 yard hound who many thought would struggle to see out the 550 yard Irish Derby trip. But one run would remain clearest in the memory.
Pestana’s racing career was ended in the 2020 Irish Derby Final.
Breeding: In terms of breeding, Pestana is by Ballymac Best, who was primarily a sprinter who was primarily a sprinter, owned by Kenny Glen and trained by Pat Buckley and then Craig Dawson. Best’s form was decent, though far from spectacular. He finished runner-up (4-1) in a William Hill Flyer final at Sunderland. He won plenty of minor opens and even had a couple of races in D2 at Newcastle.
But clearly Liam Dowling knew more to even consider putting him at stud (the clue might have been in his name!). That confidence has been fully vindicated having thrown this year’s Irish Derby winner Born Warrior, another with a devastating burst to the bend.
In fact, no one has benefitted more than Dowling with ‘Ballymacs’ Anton, and Ambrose, Arminta (27.70/29.12 Shelb Pk) to name but three. But there have been loads of ‘non Ballymacs’ too. Rail McCoy, Deanridge Rapid, Ela Supremo, Sporting Chile to name but four.
Pestana’s littermates included Ballymac Micko (KO’d in a Guys & Dolls Final at Crayford) and Ballymac Petsy Petsy (dam of Irish Derby finalists Ballymac Finn and Maries Wedding). Her following litter included Ballymac Leon who clocked 29.04 at Towcester, though he has so far failed to fulfill his potential.
Ballymac Pet ran third in the 2017 Kirby Memorial. She won in 28.21 at Cork and 28.22 for 525 at Shelbourne Park where she ran fourth behind Forest Natalee in an Irish Oaks Final. Pet is a half sister to Skywalker Rafa (Irish Puppy Derby, Tipperary, McCalmont Cup). Go further and the dam line belongs to the Scally family. Generations of ‘Cabra’ hounds have graced Irish racing, with Thurles as their home base: Cabra’s Cool, Boss, Buck, Legend, Scooby, Tiny and Millie, plus Eden The Kid, Boylesports Hero, Ceroc Flash, Coolavanny Pat, Coolavanny Pandy, Strategic Review, Calzaghe Lisa, Skywalker Archie, Ballinakill Clare, Daddy Knowsbest, to name just a selection.
Stud career: Pestana’s first litter were born in January ’21 out of Unlock Unlock and include Up The Style who has won her first four races and has a 28.17 on her card at Newbridge and is joined in the Irish Puppy Oaks Final by sisters Undisputed and Succession. Another sister Press Unlock just missed out while Undulation has 28.49 winning form. Look out too for Toolmaker Stan (March, – 28.71 Cork), Rossmore Sparky (April, 28.90 Drumbo), Piercetown Wind (Feb, 28.83 Ennis) Piercetown Law (Feb, 28.96 Ennis), Excess Miles (April, 28.93 Limerick), Droopys Lovable (Apr, 28.74 Shelb), Johnny The Greek (June, 29.52, 29.38 Thurles), Spurge (Feb, 17.59 Tralee), Cape Legend (Feb, 28.39 Tralee), Makeit Swallow (March, 28.84 Waterford) Whiteys Fastman (April, 28.76 Waterford), Burgess Darcy (March, 28.89 Youghal). He has four runners in the Puppy Oaks first round at Towcester.
The former Owen McKenna trained runner, who won’t be five years old until April, sired 147 litters last year including some of the best broods in Ireland and his stock looks guaranteed to rise in 2023 and long beyond.
BRITISH BREDS
♦ There are 12 litters of Aug 21 pups who are eligible to start schooling this month. They include three litters by Hiya Butt (Blackhouse Ash, Geelo Zip, Makeit Posh), two by Droopys Sydney (Agile Doratas, Wuheida), two by Roxholme Nidge (Bodell Maska, Ella Shazza), plus: Ballymac Anton/Fiddlefadle, Ballymac Micko/Snowdon Geneva, Magical Bale/Flyhigh Olyhaz, Riverside Oscar/Silverhill Rose and Roxholme Hat/Mieske.
♦ The Greyhound Stud Book has exactly 100 litters of 2022 whelps registered so far this year (see below). That figure will continue to grow for at least the next months before gradually slowing down. It remains to be seen whether it can match the 2021 figure of 186 litters.
One of the most interesting recent regististrations are the 11 pups by Bubbly Bluebird out of marathon star Three Ems. It was Bluebird who first put his sire Droopys Sydney on the map and he was not put on public stud duties due to concerns over his fertility. His only previous litter to date included several A1/minor open race types at Romford.
2022 British bred litters
